The bonfire in the night shines like falling stars in the mountains and forests.
In fact, it is more dazzling than the stars, but sometimes it swells and relaxes, and sometimes it is gloomy and gloomy, as if shivering in the cold wind.
Above the flames is a homemade grill. The freshly roasted bison meat exudes a rich aroma on top.
Gu Xu picked off a piece of meat from the beef bone, handed it to Zhao Yan beside him and said, "Try it."
At this time, the two of them had left the border of Youzhou and came to the no man's land where the climate was even colder.
The wind here is like a sharp blade, screaming in the cold night, like a hundred ghosts chirping; the trees here are sparse, and most of them are short and ugly, growing stubbornly in the rock crevices. There are often ice edges hanging on the edge of the cliff. At first glance, they look like the fangs of wild beasts.
Although the two of them, as practitioners, were able to use their true energy to dispel the cold, their breaths still inevitably condensed into white frost in the dark air.
On the way, they also encountered a monster named "罴九". It looks like an elk, but its anus grows on its tail. It lives in the cold north all year round.
It was rare to smell the breath of a living person, so this "Zijiu" rushed forward desperately, trying to turn Gu Xu and Zhao Yan into its belly.
However, Gu Xu and Zhao Yan are not soft persimmons.
With a "Ghost Killing Talisman" and a "Primary Fire Spear", "罴九" instantly turned into ashes.
In addition to "罴九", they also saw a herd of bison on the slightly flatter foothills. Compared with the ordinary cattle in Daqi, the bison here are obviously much larger. Their whole body is covered with fluffy brown hair, and they have a pair of sharp horns that curve upward. They have a bad temper and are fierce.
Seeing them, Gu Xu smiled and suggested that he might as well catch one to barbecue and improve his food.
Zhao Yan readily agreed.
Recently, the two of them have been relying on dry food to satisfy their hunger every day, and she really feels a little bored.
After the beef was roasted, Gu Xu took out a bunch of small porcelain bottles from "Xianyunju" and introduced: "These are salt, chili powder, black pepper powder, Sichuan pepper powder... You can pick whatever you want. Use it as you like.”
"When you ran away, you actually carried so many seasonings with you?" Zhao Yan stared at these porcelain seasoning bottles and said with some surprise, "I didn't realize you were such a person who knows how to enjoy things."
Gu Xu smiled: "Shi Xiaohan especially likes to go to Luohe River to eat barbecue, but she feels that the types of seasonings at the barbecue stalls are too simple, so she asked me to use a space magic weapon to carry some with her. She was too hasty when she escaped, It was too late to take them out.”
Zhao Yan noticed that when Gu Xu mentioned the name "Shi Xiaohan", his eyes suddenly softened a lot. This reminded her of the day when the Luojing city was destroyed. Gu Xu rushed to the outskirts of the city regardless of his own safety and rescued his fiancée from Hu Yun, who had become a "ghost waiter".
"He also has a fiancée." She thought silently.
In recent days, she and Gu Xu have been traveling together, practicing together and fighting against enemies together. They have temporarily put aside their obsession with revenge and family grudges, and have almost forgotten the fact that Gu Xu was once engaged to someone else.
Looking back now, she once lived alone with a married man under the same roof, and even took off his clothes to heal his wounds... If the rotten scholars in Jicheng find out, they will definitely say that she does not uphold women's ethics and is detrimental to the family tradition. .
Of course, Zhao Yan has always had her own way of doing things, and she has cut off "fear" when breaking through situations, and does not care about other people's opinions.
In her opinion, as long as you have a clear conscience, you will have peace of mind.
However, deep down in her heart, she was slightly envious of the girl named Shi Xiaohan.
She envied that Shi Xiaohan could meet a man like Gu Xu who was handsome, capable, and willing to fight for her in times of crisis, while she only had scumbags like Zhao Yu around her.
From the conversations in recent days, Zhao Yan could clearly feel that for women, especially middle- and lower-class civilian women, Gu Xu did not regard them as accessories like most men in the Daqi Dynasty, but held An attitude of equality, respect, and compassion.
For example, when talking about Goulan brothel, other men will playfully discuss which girl is the prettiest and has the best skills, and when to go there to have fun; but Gu Xu will lament that they are all a group of poor people who can't help themselves - Da Qi Brothels are generally populated by women who were convicted of official crimes and women from poor families who work as prostitutes. Normally, no one would choose to do such a thing unless they were desperate.
For another example, when talking about the draft, others would think that it is a great honor for a young woman to be selected into the palace to serve the emperor and his concubines. After all, the process of selecting palace maids in Daqi is extremely strict, and those selected are all good-looking, They behaved appropriately; but Gu Xu felt that it was really sad that they were locked up in the palace during their prime years, isolated from the outside world, lost their freedom, and were imprisoned under a strict hierarchy.
Zhao Yan has never seen a man who puts himself in the shoes of these ordinary women and considers issues like Gu Xu.
"How is your fiancée... lately?" After a brief silence, she asked out of politeness.
Hearing her words, a bitter smile appeared on Gu Xu's face: "Our engagement has been terminated."
"Dismissed?" Zhao Yan narrowed her eyes slightly, "Is it because you are wanted by the court?"
"Yes," Gu Xu sighed, "it was not her intention to terminate the engagement. But if she does not sever the relationship with me in time, she may be implicated and punished by the court."
"It was my fault," Zhao Yan lowered her head and stared at the dancing flames on the firewood pile. "I caused you to lose your official position and your fiancée."
While speaking, the scene of that day could not help but appear in her mind: Gu Xu standing in the blazing fire, anger hidden in his calm eyes; Shi Xiaohan lying on his back, her eyes full of dependence on him.
This is undoubtedly an enviable couple.
It's a pity that we still lost to the impermanence of the world.
"Miss Zhao no longer has to blame herself," Gu Xu looked at her and said seriously, "The fault is not you or me, but the world. Some things are destined to happen and are unavoidable."
Zhao Yan knew that he was comforting herself with poor reasons again.
Gu Xu is really interesting. He is obviously the victim, but every time he talks about this topic, he keeps comforting her: "Don't be sad," "Don't blame yourself," "Don't blame yourself." It really has nothing to do with you."
"Then what do you plan to do in the future?" She asked again, "Are you planning to renew your relationship with her after you succeed in cultivation?"
"I don't know," Gu Xu shook his head gently, his eyes a little blurry for a moment, "Now, she is the daughter of a Daqi official, but I am a wanted rebel. If we want to get married, only two people can A kind of practice——
"One is that she also took the initiative to treason and fled with me. But she is not a lonely person like me without a father and a mother. She still has family in Daqi. It is impossible for her to abandon her family and become a desperado.
"The other is that I become strong enough to fight against Emperor Tianxing and the entire Da Qi court. It's just... Emperor Tianxing is stronger than I previously expected. I am not confident that I can defeat him."
Zhao Yan ate the roast beef while looking at his handsome face carefully, watching the bright firelight dancing in his penis.
With only the fifth level of cultivation, he was considering challenging Emperor Tianxing.
Should we evaluate him as "ambitious" or should we say that he "really dares to think"?
"Actually, you have a third option," Zhao Yan said in a joking tone while licking the chili powder on the corner of her mouth, "You defect to Dayan, and I will board the The throne, and then we will lead thousands of troops together to destroy Daqi and unify the wilderness. When then, I will personally grant you a marriage."
"If Miss Zhao can really deal with Emperor Tianxing for me, then I am willing to be Miss Zhao's pawn, as long as you follow your lead." Gu Xu also smiled slightly and joked.
After that, both of them focused on chewing the bison meat and said nothing more.
After eating, Zhao Yan stood up, wiped the grease on her hands, and then walked towards the door of "Xianyun Residence" - now she entered and exited "Xianyun Residence" as naturally as leaving her own mansion.
She passed by Gu Xu on the way and noticed that his collar was slightly messy, so she bent down and tidied it up for him.
Just halfway through sorting it out, a thought suddenly came to her mind: Is this behavior a bit too close?
But thinking that Gu Xu's engagement had been terminated and they were both single now, she felt a little more relaxed.
It's just a small favor to do a friend. it's not a big deal.
…………
The next morning, when the sun shone in the distant sky, Zhao Yan once again grabbed Gu Xu's arm and prepared to travel through space with him.
"Say goodbye to it!" Gu Xu pointed at the sun and said to her with a smile, "In the next period of time, we should not be able to see it for the time being."
Zhao Yan glanced at him, not knowing how to respond to his sense of humor.
The next moment, the "astrolabe" shone with light, and the surrounding scenery was distorted, turning into rapidly rotating blocks of color, as if falling into a kaleidoscope.
When the view became clear again, they were already standing on the edge of a cliff.
The sky was dark and cloudless, with no moon or stars. The jagged peaks on both sides rose up in darkness, like sleeping black giants.
And in front of them was the vast sea. Its end meets the sky. Because the sky and sea are both dull black, it is impossible to accurately find the location of the intersection between the two.
Looking from a distance, it looks like the sky extends from the top of the head to the feet, and also looks like the vast ocean rushes to the sky and merges with the water of the Tianhe River.
When Gu Xu stood by the black ocean, he could feel the "astrolabe" in his hand trembling slightly, and he could also faintly hear a voice calling him from the depths of the ocean.
"The thing I'm looking for should be under the sea." He took out a talisman and handed it to Zhao Yan's hand beside him. "I'll go find it in the sea. Just wait for me here."
"If this talisman remains intact, it means that I am still alive.
"If it burns itself to ashes, that means I died in the sea. In that case, you can go home by yourself."
